"HIV is a Women's Disease." "Knowledge is Power." "I Know." These were the messages of World AIDS Day 2004 on the University of California's Los Angeles (UCLA) campus. HIV is a women's disease. I know. I am a woman with HIV. Having that knowledge, I took care of my health. I was empowered. I know my status so HIV can stop with me.

World AIDS Day 2004 was embraced by this campus community as one thousand students marched into Bruin Plaza holding signs that said "Knowledge is Power" and with statistics of the rate of infection in women. After twenty-two years, women are finally empowering themselves by acknowledging that "HIV is a women's disease" and letting the world know. UCLA AIDS Institute and the World Arts and Cultures Department and other campus organizations set up a series of workshops and movies and held seminars on sex education, among other topics. Red wristbands saying "I Know" were given to those who got tested for HIV. I know my status-do you know yours? With more than eighty percent of the HIV-infected women in the U.S. being African-American or Hispanic I was honored to be one of the participants in the day's events.

Dr. Kathie Ferbas, one of UCLA's AIDS Institute's HIV vaccine researchers, kicked off the day's events speaking to an enthusiastic crowd. I followed, speaking of my experiences as a woman living with HIV and the importance of testing: a responsible choice that can ultimately save your life and protect your community. By encouraging testing as a positive (and routine) action, we can move out of the stigma that was born in the early days of the epidemic. As long as we still have to endure this threat to our very existence, we can live with it much better by educating ourselves and diminishing our fears. Knowledge is Power.

Read the rest of this month's article, "My Reflections on Women and World AIDS Day"

This health article is brought to you by our Featured Health Article of the month:
Sherri Lewis
Actress/singer, writer, and nationally known AIDS educator

Sherri Lewis, also known as Beachfront, is an HIV-positive actress/singer, writer, and nationally known AIDS educator. Along with her one-woman show Life Is a Beach, she is a public speaker for UCLA AIDS Institute and Being Alive, and serves on Women At Risk's board of directors and as the organization's outreach coordinator.

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Current as of December 2005